Tebu Gan
Dem Durrty Boyz
Dirt Nap Squad.
810
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Posted - 2014.04.20 16:38:00 -
[1] - Quote
I think it is a matter of BOTH.
As an example, let me recall my first experience with Dust 514.
Open Beta
At this point I had read a lot about Dust and the connection with EVE, of which I was familiar with from back in it's early years. So start my first char,get murdered by laser rifles from halfway across the map. Not to mention being unfamiliar with the map is a HUGE disadvantage in any FPS.
I don't stick around for too long, opting to let my character accrue passive SP until they released the final version. In the meantime, I start up an EVE char to ready myself for the connection, going mining because I retardedly think I'm going to help fund my Dust bunny with my Pilot.
Official Release
So getting back on for the first time since early open beta, I have accrued 3.5 million SP, plus my refunded skills. WHOO, I think. Basically that meant I get a little head start on everyone else. Well if I wasn't stupid that is.
I KNEW that it would be better to specialize in something early. So I was very hesitant with my SP right at the start. I get the basic assault suit, and a AR. Then play my first game with my freshly fit suit. Since this isn't a fresh character, I go straight to the wolves.
Predictably, I get owned. How owned? 0 - 36
For a FPS, this was totally unacceptable. I am NOT a FPS scrub. We used to lan party it up with some FPS. I've always held at the very least a 1.0 KDR. And right from the start I'm deep in the negative. This is where the RPG side comes to mind and I start droppin SP into things. First it was weapons, then shield skills, then armor skills, and suits even.
I was desperately trying to find something that worked for me. In most other FPS that you play, you can get kills from the start. But this game creates a rift between new players and Vet players, through SP. The 2 important factors being how much SP, and HOW IT WAS SPENT.
No matter how much I played, I never seemed to improve to the point where I could get kills consistently. I was buying monthly boosters, and POUNDIN that cap out every week. My SP generation was maxed out. Still, I wasn't improving much. Then I took the big leap and joined my first corporation, knowing that teamwork is a big deal in New Eden.
This helped a little, because I really saw the importance in choosing a path and sticking with it. They got kills and made wins in advanced gear. Namely because of the proto weapon they went early into, core skills, then suits. So it took me about 2 months to figure this little bit out. All the while getting my ass handed to me A LOT. And this was soon after official release, when a LOT of new people were on the field.
My SP was EVERYWHERE. I even had a few points into turrets and such (because I thought this helped me with using installations). Exit "Teba Gan" and enter "Tebu Gan". The character I made for the sole purpose of tanking. I said to myself, no matter HOW much this is going to suck in the beginning, I will stick it out and ONLY spend points on tank skills.
Tanking
And it did suck, as tanking was expensive and really required a heavy SP investment. I did do much better in the tank, which made me enjoy the game for the first time. This is when I really got into Dust. I got rather good (my personal opinion) for the somewhat low SP investment I had into them.
But I had quite a bit of help from a beta vet tanker, who taught me about damage mitigation and tactics. While I did lose a good number of tanks in the beginning, that quickly changed once I got the basics down. My KDR started improving, and I actually felt like I was contributing to my matches. It took me nearly 2 months to figure this out though!
Conclusion
Though I was VERY interested in this game. I had read up on it in closed beta, and followed it up until release. I wasn't just another New Player trying it out to see if I like it or not. This was MY game. I wasn't simply trying it out, I was hooked BEFORE I started playing.
To answer your question:
As my skills improved, so did my SP investment. In dust, these two things go hand in hand. While skills are important, without SP invested, you WILL fall behind. I would almost say that SP is a bit more important, as a Pro player can much more easily beat out a player with no SP invested, even if the new player has skill.
Weapon Proficiency skills make a huge difference, not to mention PG/CPU, Shield and Armor skills. And then you have the tiers of modules, the lowest being the weakest, the highest the strongest.
This far along in development, the SP gap is there and it DOES make a difference for new players coming in. I was hooked before I started, so I toughed it out. But for those just checking it out, why would they bother? It would be months before they could stand on even ground, and that's only if they choose to specialize early on.
(To those out there that say you drop proto all day long in STD gear, I do doubt that. I personally have minimal infantry investment and don't drop proto all day long. Often times, it's like hitting a brick wall. And all they need are a few shots into you with your weak eHP. The odds ARE stacked heavily in their favor.)
Tanks - Balancing Turrets
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Tebu Gan
Dem Durrty Boyz
Dirt Nap Squad.
819
|
Posted - 2014.04.24 20:47:00 -
[4] - Quote
1. Are starter fits helpful?
I say they are useful tools in the learning process. While I do see how forcing a player to fit their first suit themselves can be useful, it's not for everyone. Different people have different approaches to learning. Some people just want to hop in the first game and figure it out from there. Others might opt to go through the menu's, figuring out the mods and such before starting the game.
I've recently tried to sell this game to a buddy of mine, explaining the ins and outs, the complexity, ect. For that matter, many people I talk to about this always go, "OH, it's a game for smart people". Is this the group that we only want to cater too? Those that enjoy the complexity, and the challenge that goes with it.
The others, I view as the COD FPS guys(standard FPS gameplay). I myself enjoy COD, and other "simple FPS games", namely because it's simple and easy to get into. Nothing fancy, pick your favorite gun, and go to town. It's a no brainer. These people don't want to figure out how to best fit up a particular suit. They just want to be told what's good. On a side note here, they need to get kills and feel competitive. For these types, well fit starter suits are very beneficial to them in the learning process.
2.
Agreed, most console FPS players care little about looking for help outside of the game starting off. Even then, there are mountains of stuff to go through. All they want to do is get in the game and get some kills.The complexities are a bonus, and not a necessity to them, or at least they should be.
3.
They wouldn't have to worry about the SP, if nubs were placed on more even grounds in their matches. And even if they did have more starting SP, I assume 9/10 will misplace a good portion of it. STILL leaving them at square one.
4.
I've been saying this for a while now. Though being FTP, they bank on new players buying aur to buy aur versions of weapons to try before specing them. In my opinion the really need to make MLT versions of everything, and change their marketing strat in the process. (Aur for isk anyone? Or something along the lines of the PLEX system.)
Tanks - Balancing Turrets
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